Idaho and West Virginia have requested that the Supreme Court hear cases concerning the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. The act restricts trans women from participating in women’s sports, classifying them as ‘men’ not ‘women.’
According to a brief from the West Virginia Attorney General’s office, these rules are meant to honor human biology. The brief states that restricting ‘biological males’ from participating in women’s and girls’ sports is fair, as “ignoring basic biology” would rob biological women and girls of the “opportunity to compete for athletic accolades.”
Alongside West Virginia, attorney generals from states like Alaska, Florida, and Texas have asked the Supreme Court to rule against the proposed litigation. This effort is led by Attorney General Tim Griffin from Arkansas and Attorney General Steve Marshall from Alabama.
The attorney generals are operating on the basis that the Constitution’s fourteenth amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, allows states to separate sports teams based on biological sex. They argue that the Constitution has no requirement to acknowledge gender identity.
The terms of the Equal Protection Clause are complicated, as the issue can extend beyond just sports teams to locker rooms and bathrooms.
According to LGBTQ Nation, these notions contradict a “scientific consensus, which suggests there may be no inherent advantage to trans women who have been transitioning for some time.”
The brief fails to acknowledge trans women as women, heavily relying on athletes’s biological sex rather than their current gender identity. The brief also heavily focuses on how the plaintiff will disproportionately affect biological women.
There are real and clear examples of how trans women have been negatively impacted by this type of sports segregation, including trans runner Lindsay Hecox and Becky Pepper-Jackson. Pepper-Jackson is a young trans girl who is on puberty blockers but has not undergone testosterone-based puberty. Essentially, Pepper-Jackson did not receive treatment that some believe would give her a ‘physical advantage’ over biological girl athletes.
The Supreme Court is on summer recess and will later decide if it will hear the case.
